What is "queen regnant"

Queen \Queen\, n. [OE. quen, quene, queen, quean, AS. cw[=e]n wife, queen, woman; akin to OS. qu[=a]n wife, woman, Icel. kv[=a]n wife, queen, Goth. q[=e]ns. [root]22

1. See Quean.] 1. The wife of a king.

2. A woman who is the sovereign of a kingdom; a female monarch; as, Elizabeth, queen of England; Mary, queen of Scots.

   In faith, and by the heaven's quene.
   --Chaucer.

3. A woman eminent in power or attractions; the highest of her kind; as, a queen in society; -- also used figuratively of cities, countries, etc. `` This queen of cities.'' `` Albion, queen of isles.''
   --Cowper.

4. The fertile, or fully developed, female of social bees, ants, and termites.

5. (Chess) The most powerful, and except the king the most important, piece in a set of chessmen.

6. A playing card bearing the picture of a queen; as, the queen of spades.

   Queen apple. [Cf. OE. quyne aple quince apple.] A kind of apple; a queening. ``Queen apples and red cherries.''
   --Spenser.

   Queen bee (Zo["o]l.), a female bee, especially the female of the honeybee. See Honeybee.

   Queen conch (Zo["o]l.), a very large West Indian cameo conch ( Cassis cameo). It is much used for making cameos.

   Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king.
   --Blackstone.

   Queen dowager, the widow of a king.

   Queen gold, formerly a revenue of the queen consort of England, arising from gifts, fines, etc.

   Queen mother, a queen dowager who is also mother of the reigning king or queen.

   Queen of May. See May queen, under May.

   Queen of the meadow (Bot.), a European herbaceous plant ( Spir[ae]a Ulmaria). See Meadowsweet.

   Queen of the prairie (Bot.), an American herb ( Spir[ae]a lobata) with ample clusters of pale pink flowers.

   Queen pigeon (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of very large and handsome crested ground pigeons of the genus Goura, native of New Guinea and the adjacent islands. They are mostly pale blue, or ash-blue, marked with white, and have a large occipital crest of spatulate feathers. Called also crowned pigeon, goura, and Victoria pigeon.

   Queen regent, or Queen regnant, a queen reigning in her own right.

   Queen's Bench. See King's Bench.

   Queen's counsel, Queen's evidence. See King's counsel, King's evidence, under King.

   Queen's delight (Bot.), an American plant ( Stillinqia sylvatica) of the Spurge family, having an herbaceous stem and a perennial woody root.

   Queen's metal (Metal.), an alloy somewhat resembling pewter or britannia, and consisting essentially of tin with a slight admixture of antimony, bismuth, and lead or copper.

   Queen's pigeon. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Queen pigeon, above.

   Queen's ware, glazed English earthenware of a cream color.

   Queen's yellow (Old Chem.), a heavy yellow powder consisting of a basic mercuric sulphate; -- formerly called turpetum minerale, or Turbith's mineral.

n. a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king.

n. a female sovereign ruler [syn: queen, female monarch] [ant: king, king]

A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king, or a queen regent, who is the guardian of a child monarch reigning temporarily in their stead. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire.

A queen regnant possesses and exercises sovereign powers. A queen consort shares her husband's rank and titles, but does not share the sovereignty of her husband. The husband of a queen regnant traditionally does not share his wife's rank, title or sovereignty. However, the concept of a king consort is not unheard of in contemporary or classical periods.

A queen dowager is the widow of a king. A queen mother is a queen dowager who is also the mother of a reigning sovereign.